Xs and Os
by braille upon my skin
Summary: "She doesn't regret what her "just singing", has incurred. Not at all. Winding up on Sharpay Evans's radar, though, especially in this way? That was a complete accident."


**A/N:** Gabriella/Sharpay is a dynamic I've wanted to toy with for years, but I've just never found a plot worthy of exploration involving those two.

Ultimately, however, I came up with this...?

Fun fact: I gave this story its title quite a bit before Ashley Tisdale and Vanessa Hudgens covered the Elle King song with a soundalike name.

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* * *

 _ **Xs and Os**_

 _"There's something freaky about her."_

 _"Is Sharpay really,_ really _mad at me?"_

x-o

Getting on the bad side of Sharpay Evans was never something Gabriella Montez intended to do.

Gabriella had goals when she made her reluctant transfer to East High: keeping her head down to avoid becoming the center of attention and having people stare at her, being seen as something other than the school freaky genius girl, and maybe, just maybe, auditioning for the school musical. Befriending Troy Bolton had not been on her to-do list, but a relationship with him just seemed to be part and parcel of trying out for the musical. It was a pair's audition, after all, and, she has to admit, Troy is nice enough.

When he isn't being spineless, or selfish, and when he isn't too caught up in his own drama as the Wildcat Superstar captain of the school's basketball team, and the coach's son, to give her an adequate amount of attention.

Gabriella loves to sing, even if her stage fright is an impediment to that hobby. Participating in her church's choir was the highlight of her Sundays while it lasted. But, she never expected the East High Drama teacher, Ms. Darbus, to announce that she and Troy had earned themselves a callback audition. She'd never even suspected that the older woman had been listening while she and Troy were singing along to tiny Kelsi Nielsen's arrangement of the musical's big romantic duet.

Secretly, though, some part of her is thrilled that she'll get to sing onstage, once again. She beams as Kelsi excitedly covers when she'll be available for rehearsing the duet from the show's second act.

Gabriella never considers for even a moment that East High's resident theater "queen", Sharpay Evans, will take Troy and Gabriella's innocent singing that somehow resulted in a callback audition, personally. The idea never so much as crosses her mind that her lunch tray will be flung into the air as she slips on a puddle of spilled milk in the chaotic school cafeteria. Or, that her chili fries will be sent flying off the tray and make a seemingly set trajectory right for Sharpay's chest.

Gabriella tries frantically to rectify the situation by rushing over to wipe the sauce off of the blonde's blouse. She ignores Sharpay's ear-piercing screams and gasps out an apology.

Apologizing isn't something that Gabriella does very often, because she _doesn't_ mess up or make mistakes.

At least, not typically.

Sharpay has power and influence at East High, just like Troy. Or, maybe even more so than Troy, if the majority of students in the cafeteria falling into a dead silence that was only broken by petrified gasps the moment that Gabriella's lunch dive-bombed and soiled the blonde's chest is anything to go by. Gabriella wants Sharpay to… well, maybe not _like_ her, but definitely _not_ view her as a _threat_ or a _target_.

Sharpay's outraged shriek suggests that plan has been an exercise in failure.

As she sits down to eat her lunch with Taylor McKessie, the Chemistry Club President and leader of the Scholastic Decathlon team who has more or less taken Gabriella under her wing, and is sort of becoming Gabriella's friend, Gabriella pleads her case. "Is Sharpay really, _really_ mad at me? I said I was sorry."

Taylor informs her matter-of-factly, "No one's beaten Sharpay out for a musical since _kindergarten_."

Gabriella explains that she wasn't trying to beat anyone out, that she and Troy didn't even _audition_. But, it's no good. Taylor makes it clear that Sharpay won't be convinced, and Gabriella unwillingly acquiesces that Taylor is right.

Even still, she doesn't regret what her "just singing", has incurred. Not at all.

Winding up on Sharpay Evans's radar, though, especially in _this_ way? That was a complete _accident_.

xo

During rehearsals for the East High winter musical, Gabriella can see Troy and Ryan bonding. Ryan knows his way around the stage and lends Troy his expertise when Troy, predictably, fumbles. Troy smirks and chuckles at Ryan's surprisingly sarcastic sense of humor, and he doesn't mind sharing a dressing room with the flamboyant male Evans twin the way Chad and Troy's other friends believe that he should.

On the girls' side of things, however… Sharpay, despite wishing Gabriella the disconcerting theater version of "good luck", in the show, remains distant, cold, and standoffish. Occasionally, she'll contribute a snarky quip, or pull a judgmental face as she watches Gabriella deliver her lines, but otherwise avoids Gabriella like she's managed to contract a strain of the plague.

Gabriella finds herself tempted to approach Sharpay and ask her for pointers, since the blonde seems to think she could play the role of Troy's love interest better than she can. Maybe she'd even ask Sharpay what her deal is. Gabriella didn't _steal_ the lead in the show out from under Sharpay's nose. She _won it fair and square_.

And, if Gabriella is honest with herself, being interrupted mid-sentence by the uncomfortably familiar- and grating- sound of Sharpay's snickering and scoffing isn't doing her nerves any favors.

She's preparing to practice Minnie's solo in the empty auditorium during the lunch hour when the voice she's definitely no longer a stranger to cuts in.

"You're sharp."

"Excuse me?" Gabriella eyes the blonde girl in confusion as Sharpay enters from the backstage area, heels clicking and bracelets jangling together, and crosses to center.

"Um, sharp? Pitchy? These are basic music terms, Gabriella. Surely a _brilliant_ mind like yours would have picked them up by now."

Gabriella knows she's being condescended to, and it rankles her. But, she keeps her expression set to naively bewildered.

Sharpay heaves out a long-suffering sigh. "Kelsi taught you how to warm up, right?"

"Yes? But-"

"Try doing this." Sharpay raises her hands to her eye-level and vibrates her lips, emitting a high-pitched sound as she gradually lowers her arms in an extremely theatrical and Sharpay-manner.

It's one of the most ridiculous things Gabriella has ever seen. She just barely restrains her laughter.

Sharpay repeats the entire odd routine two times before declaring a loud "MAH!" as her grand finale.

The volume of the girl's voice doesn't quite startle Gabriella. But, her heart does miss a beat before kicking into a slightly faster tempo.

"What is that?" She asks.

"It's a vocal exercise. Ryan and me do it before every performance."

"Oh." So, Sharpay _isn't_ trying to sabotage her and make her look like a fool in front of the entire school?

A beat of silence passes between them. Then, rolling her eyes, Sharpay spins on her heels and moves to make a no doubt dramatic exit.

"Sharpay, wait!" Gabriella calls after her.

To her surprise, Sharpay complies.

"Thank you," Gabriella says sincerely to Sharpay's puzzled expression.

Sharpay doesn't reply, but Gabriella lets a smile work its way across her face, regardless, as she watches the girl's departure. Maybe she and the self-proclaimed "queen" of the East High School drama department don't share inside jokes and an easy camaraderie, like Troy and Ryan, but this is definitely _progress._

xoxo

At curtain call, Gabriella and Troy are flanked on either side by Sharpay and Ryan.

Troy and Ryan link hands like it's second nature.

Sharpay's hand is soft and smooth in Gabriella's grip, not callused, like Troy's is.

For a fraction of a second, Gabriella catches herself envying the other girl's pristine nail beds. Her own are history.

For about a second, she realizes how surprisingly _warm_ Sharpay's hand is.

Then, Sharpay retracts her limb like she's been scalded and, her perfected white smile slipping from her face the instant the curtain closes, exits stage right in a flourish.

Even though the cast party is held at the Evans twins sprawling home, Gabriella doesn't encounter a head of shining blonde hair and glinting brown eyes the entire night.

xoxoxo

They sign each other's yearbooks with xs and os.

Gabriella reads Sharpay's "message" to her, which is actually more of a backhanded compliment, and, in spite of herself, feels an amused, indulgent smile plays on her lips.

xoxoxoxo

Gabriella's tenure as the lifeguard at Lava Springs, that summer, finds her and Sharpay falling back into their, at this point, _tired_ role of rivals. Sharpay has her sights set on Troy, and is determined to make Gabriella quit, if that's what it takes to get him wrapped around her finger.

From Gabriella's perspective, Troy isn't worth the ruined summer, worth any of the heartache. But, she can't help feeling, as her gaze is boring into Sharpay's wide, unnerved brown eyes, and the steely glint is suddenly nowhere to be found, that Sharpay _isn't_ a lost cause. That if someone could just get reality through her pretty blonde head…

Once more, however, Sharpay breaks first and is hurrying away, leaving Gabriella standing there, her insides ravaged by a fire that reeks of Sharpay's surely ridiculously expensive, and _overpowering_ , perfume.

xoxoxoxoxo

She's seated beside Sharpay at graduation. When Troy makes mention of her in his speech, Gabriella feels a light nudge and turns to see Sharpay beaming at her. The blonde's eyes are just as soft as her hands were, not a trace of resentment or animosity anywhere in their amber depths, and brim with enough warmth to render the rocky history the girls share null and void.

Gabriella's heart pangs with sudden, intense longing. But, all she can do is return that perfect smile until it slips from her face when she remembers Troy; her crazy boyfriend who is going to follow her to college, even though she dumped him.

Troy, who is crediting her with changing everyone at East High for the better.

Troy, who she said she _loved_.

xoxoxoxoxoxo

Gabriella storms away from Troy at their graduation party, heated anger licking at the bottom of her stomach. She could… She could _slap_ him. Slap him for being so impulsive, for just springing things on her, for not knowing when to _let go_.

Yes, she's a lot better at goodbyes than he is, but she almost hates him for bringing another one upon her. Because this time, she might not have the luxury of ending things over the phone. She'll have to see his face, the pain flooding his disarmingly blue eyes, resist his desperate attempts to get her to change her mind by reaching out for her, wrapping her up in his strong arms, and clinging to her like the lost, scared little boy he really is under all of that superstar athlete charm and bravado.

Her throat tightens, and she has to remind herself to breathe as she navigates the surge of intense fury threatening to overtake her, and tries to navigate the dark and unfamiliar courtyard at the back of the Evans residence. She isn't sure where she's going, but stops dead in her tracks at the sight of blonde curls.

Sharpay is sitting by the pool- because of course the stupidly rich Evanses have a backyard pool- and she catches Gabriella's eyes.

For a moment that seems to stretch on forever, they maintain that eye-contact. The lights set in the pool cast an otherworldly glow on Sharpay's skin and hair, and something tugs at Gabriella's abdomen at the sight of her. That something wants to pull her toward Sharpay, maybe convince her to take the girl's smooth, manicured hand, run her fingers through Sharpay's golden curls, touch her face…

This time, it's _Gabriella_ who breaks first. A movement in her peripheral vision redirects her focus.

Troy. He's reentering the Evans mansion with another blond- a male, _Ryan_ \- at his side. Their hands are once more interlaced like they were created for that exact purpose.

Gabriella almost laughs, even though the situation is about as far from funny as she can imagine. She wonders if Troy even realizes what's going on… if he only came for her because she's a necessity that he's holding onto out of fear of facing what comes next.

She feels a flash of jealousy twist her stomach as she thinks about what must have been going on with Troy and _Sharpay's brother_ while she was gone. What else she missed out on because Troy _sent her away_.

When she turns back, Sharpay is still staring at her, and the _pity_ \- not smug satisfaction. _Pity_ \- on her face is too much to bear.

Gabriella rushes out, pushing past writhing bodies as the jovial laughter of her former classmates fades into white noise. Images of Troy's hurt expression and Sharpay's look of pity attack her mind until she wishes Troy would have left her where she was.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxo

With all of the traveling across the country she's had to do, thanks to her mom's work repeatedly uprooting her, Gabriella has never been to New York. The first time she sets foot in the famously busy city is during her sophomore year at Stanford, when she has to travel there for a debate in her Pre-Law class.

The posts she's seen on Facebook and Twitter can't prepare her for the reality of seeing Sharpay's face, blown up to about one-hundred times its normal size and plastered all over billboards, and even a bus. It's totally surreal.

Yet, something like pride warms Gabriella as she takes it all in.

Sharpay really did it.

She's as famous as she always wanted to be.

The first chance she gets, Gabriella purchases tickets to Sharpay's Broadway show, _A Girl's Best Friend_. Sharpay is better in it than Gabriella ever imagined, her acting having evolved and matured much like Sharpay, herself. And, seeing Sharpay's Yorkie, Boi, yapping and prancing about onstage beside her has Gabriella's face breaking into that now familiar smile of mingled amusement and indulgence.

She can't define what draws her to the stage door, but when she's face to face with an older, platinum blonde Sharpay, her breath catches in her throat and speech leaves her.

"Gabriella." The greeting is likely meant to be curt, but the hostility between them has evaporated.

There's no need for them to be in competition with each other, anymore. Gabriella is totally engrossed in her studies and has no intention of "stealing" Sharpay's Broadway spotlight, and Troy is back in California, and, from what Taylor has told her, dabbling in bisexuality with Ryan, who seems to have made a name for himself on the West Coast.

"Sharpay, you were-" Gabriella starts, finally recovering her tongue.

"Is this your first time?"

Gabriella shoots her a bewildered look. A flush has crept into her cheeks at the phrasing, and she prays it isn't obvious.

"In New York," Sharpay clarifies with an easy, friendly laugh.

"Yeah." Gabriella tucks a strand of hair behind her ear. "It is."

"Well, then I guess it's my duty as a full-fledged New Yorker, now, to treat you to coffee."

Heart leaping, Gabriella beams.

Sharpay smiles back without restraint, and butterflies take flight in Gabriella's stomach.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxo

One minute, they're sitting in Sharpay's surprisingly small, but not surprisingly in the slightest _**very**_ _pink_ apartment, laughing over the transitory nature of high school relationships, and even about the incident with the chili fries- "That shirt was hideous and offensive. I actually owe you one for helping me finally throw it in the trash where it belonged".

The next, the distance between them has ceased to exist, and Gabriella's lips are brushing experimentally against the bright pink glossy ones before her.

When she pulls back to study the reaction to her experiment, Sharpay blinks, her brown eyes stretched wide in an uncharacteristically innocent expression, and her arched eyebrows furrow. She seems to be contemplating what just happened, and Gabriella's stomach gives a sudden, painful lurch as the giddy, biochemical high fades. Sense sets in and she half-expects Sharpay to jump to her feet in a panic, begin hyperventilating, wipe her mouth off like it's come into contact with something truly disgusting, and leave in another infamous huff.

What she doesn't expect is Sharpay's astonishingly gentle hands taking hold of her face and tipping it forward, and Sharpay's lips capturing hers.

 _Consuming_ them.

Kissing Sharpay is completely incomparable. Troy was always timid, hesitant, waiting for Gabriella to initiate everything. Much like the boys at Stanford, Sharpay's hands roam over Gabriella's clothes until they've tugged her cardigan off and have the straps of her tank top resting on her forearms. Unlike the boys at Stanford, however, Sharpay's perfectly manicured nails lightly scrape Gabriella's skin, and the smell of her perfume and hair invades all of Gabriella's senses at once.

It's intoxicating. It's the perfect chemical reaction.

Gabriella traces the column of Sharpay's spine over the fabric of Sharpay's tight-fitting dress, and muses that, maybe all of the petty arguments, insults, glares, and defensive posturing were leading to _this_ , all along.

When she feels Sharpay's heartbeat racing along in-synch with her own, she can't help but hope this is the case.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

The note taped to the door of Gabriella's hotel room- inside of a pink envelope, of course- is written in that signature showy penmanship, and tells her not to be a stranger.

It's signed with xs and os.


End file.
